Convertible garment construction and method for making same



Sept. 9, 1958 E. M. MARSHALL EI'AL- $850,741

CONVERTIBLE GARMENT CONSTRUCTION AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME Filed July 24. 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.4,

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CONVERTIBLE GARMENT CONSTRUCTION AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME Filed July 24, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS ELEANOR M- MARfiHALL MARCELLE KINGSLEY uu'r lava? ATTORNE Y United States Patent '0 CONVERTIBLE GARMENT CONSTRUCTION AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME Eleanor M. Marshall, Brooklyn, N. Y., and Marcelle Kingsley Hunt, Miami, Fla.

Application July 24, 1957, Serial No. 673,960

6 Claims. (Cl. 2-227) This invention relates primarily to garments and more particularly to garments that can easily and readily be donned and removed, and while the invention is hereinafter described and shown in the drawings as a ladies garment, it is not necessarily limited to such as the principles thereof may be applied to garments for others such as those for children, for example.

One of the objects of the present invention is to pro vide a garment of novel construction and design having a trouser portion adapted to be draped relatively tightly around the legs of the wearer and at the same time provide sufficient room around the hips to permit free movement of the wearer, such as bending, stooping, etc., without undue restraint.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a garment including a draped trouser portion which may be worn with the drape portion interchangeably either in the front or on the back.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a garment with a minimum of closure elements thereon, such as snaps, hooks and eyes, etc., and wherein the trouser portion is formed by a substantial wrap-around efiect about the legs of the wearer, and which do not tend to open during exercise or movement of the wearer.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a garment having the above features and which is so constructed and arranged that a single size will properly fit a plurality of wearers of different height, size, etc.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a garment that is novel in appearance, simple and inexpensive to produce, and which is comfortable and unrestraining to the wearer.

The above and further objects and features of the invention will be more apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred and one modified embodiment of the invention wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, and in the latter of which:

Fig. l is a front view of the garment of the preferred form of the invention, with the major part of the drape portion of the trouser at the back of the wearer;

. Fig. 2 is a back or rear view of the garment of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a pattern or layout of one of the halves of the trouser member of the garment of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig- 4 is an open view of the trouser member of Figs. 1 and 2, with two complementary halves such as that of Fig. 3 attached together;

Fig. 5 is a front view of the garment of the preferred form of the invention and such as would be produced by the trouser member of Fig. 4 with the drape portion thereof substantially at the front of the wearer;

Fig. 6 is a rearor back view of the garment of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a front view of a modified form of the garment of the present invention and including a bodice or waist portion; and

Fig. 8 is a rear orback view of the garment of Fig. 7.

Referring now to the drawings, the garments of the present invention are shown in comparatively plain and simple form, and obviously suitable decorations, trimming, ornaments, pockets, etc. can be added as desired.

It will be understood that the garment of Figs. 7 and 8 may incorporate therein high or low necklines and short or long sleeves and other variations to follow and meet the prevailing and changing modes of fashions and seasons. As indicated in Fig. 3, showing the left hand half of the trouser member of Fig. 4, the edges 11 are rolled and stitched or otherwise treated for finishing elfect, and the two halves of the garment together, a belt 18 is attached along the edges 12 which may be of suitable elastic material or gathered with elastic stitching to permit stretching to various waist sizes. If desired, the belt 18 may 7 be omitted and the edges suitably reinforced in a conventional manner. At the ends of the belt 18 are suitable joining or fastening means 19, 19', such as a hook and catch, whereby the garment may be secured around the waist of the wearer.

Next a second belt member 21 is suitably secured to the adjoining edges 14 of the garment and the belt member 21 is substantially equal in length to the belt 18, and

it also has suitable fastening means 22, 22' adjacent the ends thereof. The notches 13 and 14 in the pattern of Fig. 3provide fullness in the garment when it is donned in the manner hereinafter pointed out.

In donning the garment to provide the major portion of the drape to the back of the wearer as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the belt member 18 is placed about the waist of the wearer with the fastening 19, 19' joined together in the front. The garment thus hangs about the wearer with the major section thereof at the back with the belt member 21 at the lower depending edge. This belt section is then drawn back to front through the legs and up and around the waist over the other belt section 18 and joined together in the back as shown in Fig. 2. As the garment is thus drawn through the legs and the belt 21 fastened, the finished edges 11 thereof wrap and rather snugly fit about the legs. The notches 13 and 16 formed in the belt sections of the garment provide ample fullness about the hips and legs to permit free movement of the wearer.

In Figs. 5 and 6 the trouser garment is shown with the major portion of the drape portion at the front of the wearer. In this instance the belt member 18 is fastened in the back and the garment then drawn between the legs from front to back and the belt member 21 wrapped around the waist over the belt member 19 and fastened in the front.

In Figs. 7 and 8 where the trouser portion of the garment is shown incorporated with a suitably fitted waist or bodice section 25, the waist section has armholes 23 through which the arms are inserted, and is fastened as at 24 at the back. With this arrangement, after donning the waist portion of the garment the belt section is fastened at the back and the depending portion is drawn from the front to the back through the legs and then up and around both hips to be joined in the front. As shown in Fig. 7 the second belt section includes loose tieing ends 26 which are joined in a bow 27.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a two-piece trouser garment of novel construction that is easily and readily donned and removed, that is easy and cheap to manufacture with a minimum number of pieces, that provides ample fullness without the appearance of bulkiness, that may be worn with the drape Ratented Sept. 9, 1958 portion in the front or the back, and which has many other obvious features and advantages.

While the invention has been shown in the drawings and described in the specification in but the preferred and one modified embodiment thereof, it will be apparent that numerous other modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit or essential attributes of the invention, and it is desired therefore that only such lirnitations be placed thereon as are imposed by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A garment comprising a pair of similar complementary sections, each of said sections being elongated and having generally parallel upper and lower end edges, one side edge being generally straight and the other side edge having an outwardly and downwardly extending upper portion and a lower portion extending generally parallel to the said one side edge of the section, the 'two sections being joined together along the downwardly and outwardly extending upper portions of the said other side edges to form a central seam adapted to extend downwardly over the abdominal portion of the wearer through the crotch and upwardly over the posterior, the lower portions of the said other side edge together forming a waist encircling portion and the upper end portions of the said sections also forming a waist encircling portion, and means for connecting ends of the corresponding ends of the sections together to support the garment on the wearer.

2. The garment as set forth in claim 1, in which the upper portions of the said other side edges are concave with respect to its section.

3. The garment as set forth in claim 2, in which the said one side edge joins the said lower edge by a convex section.

4. The garment as set forth in claim 3, in which the said upper end edges are gathered to provide fullness below the waist when the said upper side edges are encircling the waist of a wearer.

5. The garment as set forth in claim 3, in which the lower portion of the said other side edges are gathered to provide fullness below the waist when the said lower portions of the other side edges are joined and encircling the waist of the wearer.

6. The garment as set forth in claim 3, in which the said upper end edges and the lower portion of the said other side edges are gathered to provide fullnesses below the waist when said two separate waist encircling portions are joined about the waist of the wearer.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,412,502 Garrison Dec. 10, 1946 2,424,720 Stoehr July 29, 1947 2,445,096 Whisnant July 13, 1948 

